Jacob Malcom, PhD
Curriculum Vita
Science & Policy leader
Leader with over 20 years of experience in science, public policy, and service, with an emphasis on regional, national, and international conservation and climate science and policy. Currently on detail serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary - Policy and Environmental Management in the U.S. Department of the Interior. Regular position is as a senior executive leading the Office of Policy Analysis for the US Department of the Interior to address natural and cultural resource management policy; science and other information about those resources; and fulfilling our Trust responsibilities to Native Americans and others. I also serve as the Statistical Official for the Department, helping ensure we build and use evidence that improves how we serve the Nation. Formerly the Director of the Center for Conservation Innovation at Defenders of Wildlife, and policy analyst before that. Experience leading and managing teams through growth and organizational change (and a pandemic); fundraising through grants, foundations, and philanthropies; and growing audiences through a variety of media. I've led and directed collaborative research, technology development, and policy programs with partners across the governmental and non-governmental sectors to advance conservation outcomes. Extensive experience communicating science and policy with the press, the public, scientists, lawyers, and policymakers to set and advance the policy and conservation agenda.
Bringing eight years of resource management experience in the field, from tundra to the tropics; five years teaching during my PhD; nine years on national policy, including as a Federal senior executive, in Washington, DC.
Dozens of publications in journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Nature Climate Change, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, and numerous preprints and reports.
Experience both creating and directing the development of dozens of apps and interactive analyses to make it easier to access and understand data to inform decision-making.
Extensive experience talking with reporters from radio, print, and web media to provide explanations and background on important policy topics related to conservation and resource management.
A spicebush swallowtail (Pipilo troilus), a common species in Maryland. CC-BY-SA Jacob Malcom 2019, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/22774975
Grants, foundations, major donors, members, and ideas for innovations in funding conservation.
From testifying to Congress to speaking at international conferences to briefing decision makers.
Awards and honors, teaching experience, technical skills, and professional service.
Landscapes like this, part of Chiricahua National Monument in Southeast Arizona, must be conserved for us to protect biodiversity, build resilience to global change, and provide benefits to people. CC-BY Jacob Malcom, 2018
Featured video
Testifying to Congress on the biodiversity crisis
In May 2019, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released its of the forthcoming Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service. I testified to the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife about the report and tied it explicitly to the U.S. Endangered Species Act, our nation’s best line of defense against extinction and the threats identified in the IPBES report.